Chapter 14: Appetite
Chapter 14: Appetite
Fang Jing also raised his eyes and was surprised to find it was his classmate, Shokuba Haruka. She was dressed in a waitress uniform, holding a tray of dishes, and awkwardly squeezed out a professional smile.
“So it’s Shokuba. Do you work here?”
“…Um, please don’t tell anyone. The school doesn’t allow students to work part-time without permission.”
Shokuba Haruka lowered her head and put her hands together. But she quickly looked up again, a bit surprised, and said, “You’re eating together? Well… how do I say this? Your sibling relationship is better than I thought.”
“Only occasionally…”
Fang Jing shifted his gaze to a promotional poster hanging on the wall. He asked Shokuba quietly, “Is your restaurant currently running an ‘Big Eater Challenge Menu’? If you finish all the food on the menu, you get the meal for free, right?”
“Yes! Besides that, we also give out discount coupons. But… that menu is really extreme.”
“Good. Then can I order that menu now?”
Fang Jing pointed at the poster. Exactly. His appetite had recently increased several times over. He couldn’t get full at home lately and had been secretly eating extra meals every day.
And just as luck would have it, this restaurant was holding an Big Eater Challenge Menu. It was a good chance to eat his fill.
Nishizuka Satsuki also looked very surprised. She probably didn’t expect Fang Jing to suddenly do this.
“Brother? This… isn’t really good, is it? Do you really want to try this Big Eater Challenge Menu?”
“Yes.”
Fang Jing checked the menu description on the poster and felt it probably wouldn’t be too big a problem.
“Hey! Are you serious about this?”
Shokuba Haruka gave him a puzzled look. This also gave her a different impression of “Nishizuka Tsukasa”—at least different from her previous rigid preconceptions.
“Of course. Thank you, Shokuba.”
“Alright, I’ll go tell the manager.”
Shokuba Haruka hurried away to the back to inform the manager.
Soon, both the chef and the manager came over. They were very polite and happy, saying that few customers had the courage to challenge this Big Eater Menu.
“After all, we’ve gained some fame on Twitter. Many people who think they are big eaters have come to challenge it, but they all failed…”
“The rules are simple. You must finish all the food within the set time limit. Please confirm. If it’s okay, I will start the timer.”
This scene even caught the attention of the other customers in the family restaurant. Everyone turned their eyes towards them, and some even secretly took out their phones to record.
Large portions of food were brought to the table. After hearing the manager’s additional explanation, everyone thought it was an impossible task.
“Let’s begin…”
Fang Jing took the lead without hesitation. He could finally eat heartily without worries.
Next, in less than twenty minutes, he finished the meal. The table was a mess, and all the food from the Big Eater Challenge Menu was completely gone.
The outcome shocked everyone. Under the disbelieving gazes of the chef, the manager, and the onlookers, the food rapidly disappeared into his mouth and was swallowed without a trace.
“Well, thank you for the meal!”
Fang Jing let out a satisfied burp and patted his stomach. He had eaten quite fully this time.
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“I really didn’t expect you to eat that much. The manager and the others were quite shocked.”
Having unprecedentedly achieved the first successful completion of the Big Eater Challenge Menu, Fang Jing not only received discount coupons but also took a commemorative photo with the manager and the chef.
The way Shokuba Haruka looked at him now also held a bit more of a “I’m impressed by you” meaning.
After staying at the restaurant for over an hour, Fang Jing, his sister Satsuki, and Shokuba Haruka left the restaurant together.
It turned out she and his sister Satsuki had known each other for a long time. It seemed when Satsuki entered her first year of high school, she had joined the softball club.
Of course, later, considering family circumstances, she eventually quit the club… But even now, Satsuki would occasionally go to help the softball club.
And she met Shokuba Haruka around that time. Although Shokuba Haruka didn’t formally join any other clubs, she was good at all sports. No matter what sport she participated in, she performed very well. So she was often asked to help out by various clubs. Because of this, the two unexpectedly became acquainted.
Surprisingly, they got along quite well. As they walked, Shokuba chatted casually with Satsuki.
“Alright, I go this way. See you at school tomorrow!”
At a fork in the road, Shokuba Haruka said goodbye to the Nishizuka siblings and jogged away.
“It’s getting late. Let’s hurry back too!”
“Yeah…”
Hearing his words, Satsuki nodded slightly.
It felt like, although she was still somewhat afraid of him as before, the distance between them had slightly narrowed.
Fang Jing put his hands in his pockets and walked straight ahead, while Satsuki followed quietly behind him.
Their shadows stretched long on the sidewalk.
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After returning home, Fang Jing started doing his own things as usual. Most of the time, he would review his lessons and do some simple practice.
He couldn’t practice his fist techniques at home. The only thing he could do was swing a bamboo sword to familiarize himself with competitive swordsmanship.
While practicing “suburi,” he absentmindedly thought that he had absorbed another mass of Yin Energy and gained five units of Growth Value.
Currently, he could choose to add to his skills. Academic skills could strengthen his mental attributes, while martial skills primarily strengthened his body.
“Gōjū-ryū Kenpō, I’m currently at the ‘Elementary Level.’ Maybe I should try to advance further and see what results further strengthening would bring me.”
He didn’t review his lessons today because the couple next door seemed to be arguing, and it sounded like they had been for several days.
The wall’s soundproofing wasn’t great, so the distance did little to block the sound from the other side.
Forget it. He tried his best to block out the noise from the other side of the wall and focus his energy. This way, he could also clearly see his Fate Fragment data.
“Myriad Transformations.”
He opened the skill list and found his martial skills. Focusing his spirit, he made the Growth Value burn. With a whoosh, 1 unit of Growth Value disappeared, and the progress bar for Gōjū-ryū Kenpō jumped halfway.
“Different from before? 1 unit of Growth Value isn’t enough to max it out?”
Fang Jing didn’t hesitate much. He invested another unit of Growth Value. This time, his “Gōjū-ryū Kenpō” progress was completed.
A blue light flashed, and the numbers and text changed.
(Gōjū-ryū Kenpō, Intermediate Level, Progress 0%)
More information about Gōjū-ryū Karate flooded his mind. His eyes sparkled, knowing he had truly grasped it. It felt as if his time practicing Gōjū-ryū Kenpō had gradually deepened.
In an instant, his strength, speed, and stamina also increased by 0.1, and this change was reflected in his body.
His vision also became a bit dizzy; this was a minor side effect of the strengthening process.
But he quickly calmed down and felt the changes in his body.
His stomach started to feel hungry. This was probably his body’s reaction during the strengthening process.
Besides that, he could feel his physical condition gradually becoming stronger. Increasing martial skills made both his physical ability and technique grow together.